Mr Yin Presents Shules
by placethativebeendreamingof
Summary: What if Juliet was at the pier, not the clock tower? What if Mr. Yin set Abby up as his Kim Novack fantasy? What if Shawn was the only one who could find Juliet in time, leaving Abby in the very capable hands of Gus and Lassiter? Spoliers for Mr. Yin.
1. Where Is She?

Jules, Juliet.... He had to find her. If he had to choose, it wouldn't be Abby. It couldn't be Abby. It has always been Jules ever since he first saw her alone in the coffee shop, her gun trembling as she attempted to take a perp in custody. But where was she? And had her time already run out?

Suddenly, it hit him. The cover of the book. Yang had said to never judge a book by its cover, no matter how pretty. There had to be something more there, something he missed. In one quick movement, he yanked the cover of the late Mary Lightly's copy of Yang's book (highly derivative if he did say so himself, even though she'd correctly nailed Gus as laughing on the outside, but crying on the inside). As he held the cover up to the harsh florescent light, he saw what appeared to be a child's drawing. As he squinted, he could just make out the faint outline of waves along with a wooden dock. Wait, could it be? The pier? Leave it to Yin to find the most deeply ironic place to hide Jules. The place where he had (almost) had his first date with Abigail. Oh god, please let Abby be okay too.

"Dad, I think I know where Juliet is. Let's take your truck. Please hurry," shouted Shawn.

They drove in silence with Henry's white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel being the only outward sign of their tension while Shawn continued to brood.

"What if he was too late? What if Yin kills Abby since he went after Jules instead? What if he never gets to tell Juliet that she, and only she, is the prize at the bottom of the cereal box?" thought Shawn. Although, the bottom of the box could be the top, depending on how you open it. Either way, Jules was the prize. Of this, Shawn had no doubt.

With a sigh of relief, Shawn saw the pier came into sight as his dad pulled his truck into the marina. Almost immediately, they were off and running, calling Juliet's name the whole way. But where was she? The night was almost suffocating in its stillness, and there was no sight or sound of life. Was Shawn wrong about the book cover?

Suddenly, Shawn heard a stirring at the far end of the pier. When he looked down, he was shocked to see Mr. Yin standing and staring back at him, his face obscured by a thick black mask and black fedora. The mere sight of him caused a shiver to run up and down Shawn's spine.

"She's under the pier, isn't she?" asked Shawn.

Mr. Yin merely nodded as they both took off at run; Shawn ran towards the edge of the pier to look for Jules, while Mr. Yin ran to freedom. Shawn poked his head over the side of pier and was shocked to see Juliet tied to the mooring under the dock, her head listing to the side, and her eyes closed. Without another thought, Shawn tossed down his phone, threw off his shoes, and dived straight into the murky depths.

The bracing shock of the ice cold water was almost painful. Shawn fought off his feelings of fatigue and tenseness as he surfaced near Juliet. She looked even worse than he'd imagined up close. Her complexion was pallid and lips were nearly blue. She had a large, deep gash running across her left temple with blood slowing streaming from the wound and mixing with the water below. Despite her injuries, Shawn was relieved to see her chest move up and down as she breathed, but noticed that her breathing seemed shallow and rapid when compared to his own deep, regular breathing.

When Shawn was finally finished taking in Juliet's injuries, he looked down only to realize that the water that had only seconds ago been up to Juliet's waist was now rising above her chest and lapping ever closer to Juliet's listing head.

"Dad! Dad, I'm down here, hurry," Shawn screamed for Henry to join him in the water quickly with his handy Swiss Army knife, Shawn ducked beneath the water and begin hacking at the ropes binding Juliet to the mooring. He cut and cut until his lungs felt as if they would explode without oxygen. Upon breaking the surface, he noticed that the water was nearly up to Juliet's chin. He implored his dad to hold Juliet's head above the water before diving back into the murky depths and cutting at the ropes once again. With relief, Shawn cut free the last of the ropes tying Juliet to the mooring. When he surfaced, he found that there were only inches of space from which to suck precious oxygen.

Shawn shouted to his dad, "We've got to get her out of here!"

Shawn and his father each grabbed one of Juliet's arms, drew in the biggest breaths possible and swam out from underneath the pier and into the open water. Shawn coughed and sputtered but Juliet remained deadly silent and unconscious. Henry waited until Shawn could support Juliet alone and then climbed a small, nearly hidden ladder to safety on the pier. With significant help from his father, Shawn managed to heave Juliet to safety and pull himself up onto the pier.

Immediately, Shawn's attentions were focused on Juliet who was still very still and pale. He put his cheek to her mouth and watched her chest carefully for the reassuring rise and fall. After several seconds, Shawn realized that there was no rise and fall to observe because she had stopped breathing.

"Oh God, Jules...Don't panic, don't panic," became his internal refrain as he tried to think back to his Boy Scout first aid training.

"Dad, she isn't breathing!" shouted Shawn. Shawn started rescue breathing, tilting Juliet's chin, pinching her nostrils, and breathing forcefully into her mouth while his father positioned his hands for compressions. Before Henry could deliver a single compression, Juliet thankfully began to weakly cough and sputter and cough up a fountain of ocean water.

"Juliet...Jules...sweetheart," Shawn murmured as he smoothed a lock of damp hair off her forehead and gently lifted her into his lap. "Honey, look at me. You're okay. Just breathe." Slowly, Juliet's eyes began to open and she immediately stiffened when she saw a man hovering over her.

"Jules honey, it's me. You're safe. He can't hurt you again. I've got you." Juliet relaxed as her vision cleared and she realized that it was Shawn who was holding her in his arms. She shivered and coughed weakly. God, her head hurt. She started to close her eyes, but Shawn gently shook her and called her name louder than before.

Shawn was frightened by how weak and vulnerable Jules appeared. She was supposed to be a tough as nails cop, not this injured, shaking mess. He turned his attention briefly to his father. "Dad, we need to get her to the hospital," said Shawn. "Why don't you drive? It will probably be faster than calling for an ambulance." Henry nodded grimly and jumped up, helping Shawn to gather Juliet in his arms.

Once they made it to the truck, Henry opened the passenger door and Shawn slid onto the seat with Juliet still in his arms. Henry hopped in and started the engine, thoughtfully turning the heat to full blast as he set off. Juliet's eyes were closed again, Shawn noted. He slid his fleece jacket off the seat beneath him and immediately used it to apply pressure to the large gash on her temple which continued to stream blood.

Juliet moaned in pain as Shawn applied pressure to her temple. "Jules, honey," Shawn tried in order to get her attention.

Juliet opened her eyes and looked directly at Shawn. "It hurts," she whimpered to Shawn.

"I know it does, sweetheart. Just a few more minutes till we get you to the hospital. Where does it hurt? Your head?" asked Shawn.

Despite the rapidly warming truck thanks to Henry's blasting heat, Juliet continued to shiver. In a soft, quavering voice she whispered, "My side hurts. So does my ankle. And my head is throbbing."

Shawn sighed heavily as he continued to stroke her hair. "Dad, please hurry," Shawn said as he laced his fingers with Juliet's.


	2. The Road Goes On Forever

As Henry sped towards the hospital, he snuck a glance at Shawn. He was hovering over Juliet, gently wiping at the tears that leaked from her mostly closed eyelids. He had never seen his son so quiet, so still in his life. Except for the all too frequent times he'd been forced to drive this very route to the hospital only to find which ambulance had scraped Shawn and his stupid motorcycle off the road this time. Henry drew in a shaking breath at the thought of enduring that again.

It could have been Shawn who was taken, he couldn't help thinking. He knew Shawn was in pain just at the thought of Abigail or Juliet being hurt and was devastated to see Juliet injured and suffering, but selfishly, Henry couldn't help but be relieved that it wasn't Shawn who was draped across his passenger seat semi-conscious. After Shawn had been shot, after they'd spent 12 hours trying frantically to find him with no luck, Henry was sure that he'd lost Shawn for good. Sure, when they'd come to his rescue Shawn been his snarky and cocksure self, going so far as to jump on the hood of Lassiter's car, the better to disable the speeding truck and stop the man who'd been certain to kill him. But Henry knew better. He knew how close he'd come to losing Shawn. As the adrenaline from his car stunt had started to wear off, Shawn had collapsed into his father's arms, shaking and moaning much as Juliet had been doing only minutes earlier. Henry knew he'd never get the sound of Shawn's labored breathing, him gasping in pain, out of his mind.

"Dad, please hurry," begged Shawn, shaking Henry out of his reverie. Henry glanced at Shawn, who looked grim.

"How's she doing?" asked Henry.

Shawn just shook his head sadly. She wasn't looking good. Juliet had slid into unconsciousness again and was shivering more than ever despite the heat of the truck. Shawn let out a small breath of relief as he saw the lights of the hospital come into view. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too late.


	3. Definitely NOT Okay

As Henry's truck came to a screeching stop at the ambulance bay, Shawn breathed a sigh of relief. They'd made it to the hospital. Jules would surely be okay now, wouldn't she? One glance at Juliet's still form seemed to tell a different story...

"Son, you sit tight and I'll get them to bring a gurney," shouted Henry as he shot out of the truck and into the hospital. Seconds later, a nurse and orderly came rushing out with a gurney. In one quick movement, Shawn slid off the seat and lowered Juliet onto the bed. As the orderly started to push the gurney away from Shawn and toward the entrance, Shawn rushed forward. He refused to be separated from Jules. Yin was still out there. Shawn had to be able to see her and know she was safe. He gathered her cold, lifeless hand in both of his and sped towards the emergency room entrance.

As they moved inside, a doctor, already gowned and gloved, turned to the nurse and asked, "What have we got here?"

The nurse stuttered, "Um, I'm not sure. He just pulled up and said they needed help." She shot Henry a questioning look.

Shawn responded, "Her name is Juliet. She's been submerged in 50 degree water for at least an hour. She was knocked unconscious and almost drowned. She probably swallowed a lot of seawater. She was also complaining of pain in her side and I think her right ankle is broken." As Shawn catalogued her injuries aloud, he began to panic. Juliet was far from out of the woods.

"Alright sir, the nurse at the front desk has some papers that you'll need to fill out. We'll take good care of her," said the doctor.

"No, I'm staying with her," Shawn responded reflexively. They couldn't possibly expect him to fill out paperwork at a time like this. Not when Juliet needed him most.

"I'm sorry, sir, but that's not an option. We don't allow any friends or family in the triage room," spoke the doctor wearily. "We'll have a nurse update you on her condition as soon as we can."

"Look, you don't understand. She is a police officer who has been kidnapped and nearly killed in the line of duty." Shawn decided a small lie was in order. Surely Lassie wouldn't mind. "I'm her partner. I have to stay with her to protect her. Her kidnapper hasn't been caught yet." Well, at least that last part was true.

"Fine," sighed the doctor. "Just be sure to stay out of the way."

As they gurney came to a halt, a flurry of staff descended on Juliet. Before Shawn realized what had happened, Juliet's hand was wrenched out of his grasp and attached to a pulse oximeter. Her clothes were cut off, and a gown was hastily pulled on.

"We need her core temp," shouted the doctor to no one in particular.

"Temp is 90.1 degrees," replied a nurse grimly.

"Alright, let's start two large bore IVs of warm saline and get a warming blanket on her. We need a portable chest and C-spine x-ray STAT."

Shawn continued to watch the swarm of doctors and nurses as they huddled around Juliet. They quickly x-rayed her head to toe, finding three broken ribs and a fractured ankle. A kindly older nurse applied a pressure dressing to the wound on Juliet's temple. Shawn rubbed his hands over his eyes, hoping he would open them to find this was all a bad dream.

"What's her pulse ox?" called the doctor.

"It's 89 and falling. Heart rate is up to 140," replied a nurse.

Suddenly the doctor turned his attention to Shawn. "You said she almost drowned? Did she swallow a lot of water?"

"I'm not sure," replied Shawn, happy to be doing something other than watching the horror enfolding before his very eyes. "She stopped breathing for a second, then she coughed up a lot of water. Why?"

Instead of answering Shawn, the doctor turned his attention to the radiologist and the films that had been quickly slapped on the view box. "Do you see a shadow around the lower left lung?" asked the doctor to the radiologist as he pointed out what appeared to be two blobs to Shawn. "Are you thinking that she aspirated?" asked the radiologist. The doctor shook his head yes and focused his attention back on his patient.

"Alright," called the doctor. "Nancy, I need you to switch Juliet to a BiPAP mask and have an intubation tray ready because we may need to intubate," requested the doctor. "Somebody else get me a chest tube kit."

"Detective....detective...Detective!" the doctor shouted.

"Oh right, Shawn was supposed to be impersonating an officer. Hmm, wasn't that illegal? Just one more thing Chief Vick could add to his written reprimand," Shawn thought wryly.

"Could you say that again?" asked Shawn.

"Does she have any allergies?"

"Yes, she's allergic to shellfish and penicillin." Shawn had no idea how or why he knew this, but he did. Just one of the many facts he and Jules must have shared with one another while working cases and flirting furiously. If there was anyone who could make a penicillin allergy sound sexy, it had to be Juliet. If she made it out alive, Shawn promised to God he would let her know how he truly felt about her. No more interruptions or stalling. Just the unvarnished truth. Hopefully, it would be enough.


	4. Breathe In, Breathe Out

"Sir...Sir, do you understand? We need your consent for the procedure," insisted the doctor.

Shawn had his head in his hands. It was all too much. He never should have let Juliet go to the movie set. He knew what Yin was capable of. He'd seen the poor waitress, who'd been strangled then quickly discarded as Yin moved on to his next plaything. And now Juliet was fighting for her life, all because of the poor choices he'd made. And the doctor wanted him to sign on the dotted line, to put Juliet's life in his hands yet again. He didn't know if he could do it.

"Listen, I know you're worried for your partner. We're trying to help her. She's having trouble breathing because she inhaled some of the water into her lungs. She also has some broken ribs so she's having to work really hard to get oxygen. We need to put a tube in her chest to drain the fluid so her lung can inflate. Do you understand what I'm saying?" the doctor asked sympathetically.

Shawn could only nod in muted horror.

"Do you give us permission to do the procedure to help your partner breathe better?" asked the doctor again.

Again, Shawn could only nod.

"Great, let's get started. Her oxygen levels are getting worse by the minute. Chest tube tray, please" the doctor said with authority.

"Wait, you're going to do it right here? Don't you have to put her to sleep first?" Shawn asked nervously. They couldn't possibly be thinking of putting that huge tube into Juliet's chest while she was semi-conscious. That'd be torture and this was coming from a person who'd had the unfortunate experience of having tubes where no tubes should be in a person's body following his various motorcycle wrecks.

"Sir, she doesn't have time for us to put her to sleep. She's barely breathing as it is. We're giving her some medication to help relax her and we're going to numb the area first. Nurse, I need 5 mg of Versed IV push, please"requested the doctor while exposing Juliet's ribs and swabbing the area with Betadine.

Shawn felt like he was going to be sick. It took every ounce of his willpower not to run screaming from the room. Juliet needed him. This time he would be there for her. He stepped to Juliet's side, opposite the doctor who was now holding a very large needle. He took Juliet's hand in his and began to slowly stroke her hair. Her eyes fluttered open momentarily but quickly closed again as the medication began to take effect.

Shawn glanced up briefly to see the doctor pick up a small scalpel. "Oh, God," thought Shawn as he quickly focused his eyes back on Jules.

Suddenly, Jules let out a cry of pain as her eyes flew open. Two nurses reached down to hold her body still. Shawn could see her panicking as she gasped for breath and drew her eyes closed once more with pain. Shawn visibly winced at the site of Jules in such pain but felt powerless to do anything to help her.

Shawn bent his head until he was but inches above her face. He continued to stroke her hair as he murmured in her ear, "Breathe honey, just breathe. I know it hurts but it will be over soon." Shawn gently wiped the tears that were streaming onto her cheeks. "They're almost done, honey. Then it will be easier to breathe, I promise. They're trying to help you. Just hang in there." Juliet's cries subsided into a whimper once she'd recognized Shawn's low, soothing voice.

The flurry of activity across from Shawn slowed as the doctor slid the tube into position. "Alright, it looks like the tube is in a good spot. Let's attach it to the suction and see how she does."

Shawn looked up to see a stream of murky water travel through the tube with a low hissing sound. He couldn't believe that Juliet had inhaled that much water.

A nurse's voice pierced the otherwise silent room. "Her pulse ox is coming up. She's at 91 and climbing and her heart rate is down to 120."

Shawn released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding for the last few tense moments. Looking down at Jules, he could see a slight bit of color return to her lips and cheeks. She still felt ice cold, but she no longer looked like she'd been out in a blizzard all night.

"Jules, sweetheart, how are you feeling? Is it getting easier to breathe?" asked Shawn.

Juliet slowly opened her eyes and nodded almost imperceptibly. As her eyelids fluttered shut again, she whispered, "Still.....hurts." Shawn squeezed her hand and then turned his attention to the doctor.

"Alright, let's push ten of morphine while I suture this tube in place. What's her temperature?" asked the doctor, already moving on to the next injury to fix. Shawn looked down at Juliet and hoped the worst was over.


	5. Running in Circles

_Squeak, squeak..._Water from Shawn's sopping wet shirt and jeans dripped down to his sneakers causing a faint squeak every time he took a step. As Shawn stepped into the hall behind Juliet's gurney, he shivered at the cool air blowing out a of a nearby vent. God, he was cold.

"Shawn, Shawn!" a familiar voice called from the hallway. Shawn looked up to see Henry rushing forward wearing a pair of slightly too tight, bright blue hospital scrubs.

"Whoa, dad...easy on the McDreamy look. You don't have the hair for it. Trust me, Patrick Dempsey's lustrous locks even trump my hair," Shawn cracked.

Henry started to sputter a smart response but stopped when he Shawn shivering. "Shawn, what are you still doing in those wet clothes? You must be freezing! I wouldn't be surprised if you've got hypothermia at this point."

"What? Dad relax, I'm fine. I've got to go. They are taking Juliet for a CAT scan to check for a head injury," Shawn shouted as a he started down the hall, squeaking as he walked.

"Oh no, you're not. If you don't get out of those wet clothes this minute, I'm going to tell the big scary nurse over there that you hit your head when you jumped into the ocean and may be suffering from internal injuries." Henry watched Shawn's expression darken at the threat. He knew he was making Shawn angry, but if that's what it took to get him warm and dry, he was fine with being the bad guy. Henry watched as Shawn glanced down the hall at the unconscious detective with a look of such concern that it stopped him cold. He decided to try a slightly more empathic tactic. "Look Shawn, the doctor's lounge is just through that door at the end of the hall. Go change into some dry scrubs. I'll stay with Detective O'Hara until you get back."

Shawn let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, I'll be right back. Stay with her." Shawn quickly jogged to the doctor's lounge. Once inside, he found a pair of clean scrubs and quickly peeled off his soggy clothing. He decided that going commando would be better than staying in damp boxers and peeled them off as well. He grabbed a clean towel from the open linen closet and used it to towel dry his body and hair. Once he was mostly dry, he pulled on the crisp scrub pants and top, luxuriating in the feeling of being dry and somewhat warmer. He picked up his now damp and squeaky sneakers and decided that he needed to find better footwear. A quick peek into the linen closet revealed a shelf full of hospital slipper socks. They'll do, thought Shawn to himself. He needed to get back to Juliet. He took one look at his soggy, blood-stained shirt and jeans and decided they weren't salvageable, so he threw the whole outfit in the trash and headed for the door.

He stepped out into the hall again to see his dad pacing in front of a door which read "Radiology". Henry walked towards Shawn and offered him a large, steaming cup of coffee. "Here, son. This will help you warm up some. Don't you feel better now that you're dry?"

"Sure, Dad," replied Shawn. "How is Jules doing?"

"They're still doing the CAT scan and they said we'll have to wait out here. They wouldn't let me come back and find you either earlier. How'd you manage to convince them to let you back in the treatment room?" asked Henry curiously.

"I told them I was her partner and that I had to be with her at all times since we hadn't caught her kidnapper yet. I was all ready to steal a candy striper outfit and go undercover too. Thankfully, they were more focused on saving her life than on getting proper ID from me."

"Well, I guess you're lucky that Lassiter wasn't here then. I have a feeling he wouldn't have taken as kindly to you impersonating a police officer," said Henry with a wry grin and what Shawn suspected was a healthy respect and admiration for Lassiter as well. "Speaking of which," Henry continued, "how did Lassiter and Gus do with rescuing Abigail?"

Shawn's mouth dropped open with shock and guilt as he realized that he'd been so focused on saving Jules that he'd completely forgotten about Abigail. After all, it was his fault that Abigail had become mixed up in this whole Ying/Yang case. To think, if he hadn't called her just hours before they received their first clue from Mr. Yang, he and Abigail may have never ended up together. It pained him to think of how much danger he had put her in. He had to make sure she was okay.

"Dad, I need to borrow your phone. Mine is probably still sitting on the pier. I haven't talked to anyone since I got to the hospital," Shawn said guiltily.

Henry saw the look of shock in Shawn's eyes as he'd asked about Abigail, Lassiter, and Gus. He couldn't believe that Shawn had completely forgotten about the rest of his team. Henry obviously knew that Shawn cared for the pretty blonde detective. Heck, anyone with eyes could see that. But Shawn never forgot ANYTHING. Henry knew he'd been the one who taught Shawn to see everything, to never miss a sight or sound, but Henry also knew how much he'd wished he'd never taught Shawn those same skills following the first Yang case and Shawn's shooting. After the shooting, Henry had insisted on having Shawn spend the first few weeks of his recovery at home with him. One night, Henry was woken by the sound of Shawn shouting and rushed in to see him drenched in sweat, tangled in his sheets, shouting "Please don't hurt her, please don't shoot" at the top of the lungs. After Shawn was awake and breathing normally again, he told Henry that he'd been having nightmares since the first Yang case. Shawn wasn't able to forget what he'd seen, even when he desperately wanted to do so. So hearing that Shawn had completely forgotten the danger that his own girlfriend could be in made Henry wonder if Shawn was finally cracking under the pressure. Now Henry understood why Karen had created the special liason job for him in the first place. Karen did it to protect Shawn, to keep him from burning out at a young age. Well, as long as Shawn needed the help, Henry vowed to be there.

Henry slid his cell phone over to Shawn. "Shawn, why don't you step into the waiting room to call? I'll stay here until you get back and keep an eye on Juliet. I promise that I'll come find you if anything changes, okay?"

Shawn nodded in response and dialed the all-to-familiar number for Gus's cell phone. After three rings, a voice that was definitely not Gus's answered with "Talk to me."

"Lassie, is that you?" asked Shawn with confusion.

"Of course it is me Spencer. Who the hell else would it be?" asked Carlton. "You better have a pretty good excuse for not answering your phone earlier. We've been trying to reach you for the last 30 minutes. Please tell me you have my partner." Lassie commanded, his voice quavering just enough to betray his true worry.

"Yeah Lassie, we've got her. We're at the hospital. Right now they are doing a CAT scan to check for a head injury." responded Shawn.

"Head injury?" asked Carlton. "Is Juliet okay?"

Shawn let out a sigh of frustration. "I'm not sure. We got to her in time, but he'd hurt her. They had to put a tube in her chest. It also looks like she's got a concussion, broken ribs and ankle, and hypothermia. She's stable, but she has a lot of injuries."

"Son of a bitch," fumed Lassiter. "Nobody hurts my partner like that. When I find this damn Mr. Yin, I'm going to make sure he pays for hurting Juliet. Are you at Santa Barbara General?"

"Yeah, we are" responded Shawn. Before he could get in another word, Lassie interjected again.

"Well, we might see you pretty soon. That's where we are headed too." reported Lassiter.

Shawn drew in a deep breath. "Yeah? Who's hurt? Is Abigail doing okay? Why are you answering Gus's phone for him?" asked Shawn as he started to panic.

"Easy Spencer," assured Lassie. "Everyone is doing fine. Yin had Abby tied to the top of the clock tower but Gus and I stopped the clock before it sent Abby over the edge. Yin surrounded the clock with electrified wire. Gus burned his hand on the wire as he was trying to stop the clock. The EMTs are checking out the burn and trying to convince him to let them take him to the hospital so they can have someone properly clean and dress the wound. Ms. Lytar is fine too. Other than knocking her out with chloroform when he abducted her, Yin didn't hurt her at all. She's got a headache but is otherwise fine."

"Oh thank God," responded Shawn. "Look Lassie, would you do me a huge favor and hold the cell phone up to Gus's ear so that I can talk to him for a second?" It's really important.

"Fine," Lassie said gruffly. "Let's make it quick though, Spencer. I've still got a crime scene to finish processing and I want to get to the hospital so I can see my partner. Comprende?"

A few seconds later, Gus's voice came over the line. "Shawn? Shawn, are you there?" he asked.

"Of course it's me," Shawn replied. "How you doing, buddy? Are you hanging in there? How does it feel to be a hero?"

Gus snorted with laughter. "I don't know about that, Shawn. I'm not sure that I'm a hero, although I can say that Fearless Guster made a repeat performance."

"That's what I'm talking about," said Shawn. "Thanks for being there, buddy. I felt better just knowing you were there to make sure Abigail was okay. I'm sorry you had to get hurt in the process."

"Please," said Gus. "My hand is fine. Plus, now I'll have a sexy scar story. You know how the ladies dig that," said Gus with complete sincerity.

"Well, thanks for being there all the same," responded Shawn. "How's Abigail doing? On a scale of 1 to 10, just how mad do you think Abby is about me choosing to go after Juliet and not her? I know I've got to be in the doghouse, but I'm just wondering about how much groveling will be needed."

"Well, she's physically fine. I know that the whole ordeal really freaked her out. As for how much trouble you're in, I'm not sure. The EMTs are trying to convince her to ride with me to the hospital and get checked out to be sure she's doing okay. So, I guess you'll be able to see for yourself in just a few minutes." rambled Gus.

"Gotcha. Well, guess we'll see how things go when you guys get here. I better get back to Jules. They just finished doing a CAT scan to make sure she didn't have a serious head injury." reported Shawn.

"Shawn, is Juliet going to be okay?" asked Gus with concern. "Lassiter said he was going to kill the Mr. Yin for hurting Juliet, and I really don't think he met figuratively."

"I hope so, Gus. I really, really do. I'll see you soon." responded Shawn. He felt relieved that Gus, Lassiter, and Abigail were all safe. He wished he could say the same for Juliet. He knew she wasn't out of the woods yet, but he had no idea of what was in store for the two of them.


	6. Fine Isn't Part of My Vocabulary

Shawn breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the phone. Lassie, Abby, and Gus – three people he cared about very much – were going to be fine. He'd managed to not let Yin get in his head and had been able to save both Abigail and Juliet instead of having to make the awful choice between the two. Even though he had made the right call, he kept thinking back to the earlier case and what he could have done to prevent either of them from being in danger. He knew he couldn't have lived with himself if either had died.

Henry looked up as Shawn stepped out into the hallway. He started to ask, but the look on Shawn's face clearly betrayed the relief that he had to be feeling. Henry let out a gasp of relief as well. He knew all to well what it felt like to have another person's life in your hands and lose. The last time Henry's actions had led to the death of civilian, he had chosen retirement. No matter how many times he heard that it wasn't his fault, or that his actions had likely saved the lives of many, the only number that had mattered to him for a long time was the number of lives he'd lost. Whether that number was 2 or 200, it was too high in his mind. He didn't know how Shawn could have lived with himself after losing Juliet or Abby and was so relieved to see that the weight of that choice was off his mind, at least temporarily.

"Dad, I spoke to Gus and Lassie. Everyone is fine. They got Abigail in time. Aside from a headache from getting knocked out by chloroform, Abby doesn't have a scratch on her," Shawn blurted out in a rush. "They are all on their way here now."

Henry made an unprecedented move. Rather than pat Shawn on the back or say "good job," Henry closed the space between himself and Shawn and pulled him into a tight hug. "I knew you could do it, Shawn. You made the right choice. You saved two lives today," Henry spoke.

After a few moments of hugging, Shawn seemed to crumple in on himself and sag inward. "Dad, I could have lost them both. Jules means...well, they both mean the world to me. It's my fault that they are here. I put them in danger. The worst part is that Yin is still out there. The game isn't over yet. I saw him on that pier. He was almost close enough to touch. I could have put a stop to it for good, but instead I hesitated and because of that, Mr. Yin is still out there," Shawn said in a quavering voice, perilously close to tears.

Henry stepped back from his embrace while still holding Shawn by the upper arms. He tried to find Shawn's eyes although Shawn continued to avert this gaze. "Shawn, look at me. This wasn't your fault. This killer is sick and was going to find a victim to hurt with or without you. You can't let this guilt eat at you. You did the right thing. You made the best of a very bad situation. What Juliet and Abby need now more than ever is your support. They need you to be strong so you can help them heal. You can't help them if you are a wreck yourself," finished Henry passionately. "Do you hear what I'm saying?" he asked Shawn.

Shawn looked up at his dad with watery eyes, trying very hard not to break into open sobs. He took a deep, shaky breath and nodded stoically. He still didn't quite believe his dad, especially when it came to him not being at fault for Juliet's injuries. However, he did understand needing to be strong for Jules. So for the moment, he decided to leave his guilt behind and focus on doing everything he could to make Jules feel better and safer.

Shawn and Henry were both caught off guard when the door to Radiology swung open accompanied by an orderly pushing Juliet on a gurney. Immediately Shawn was at her side, helping the orderly steer her back towards the triage room. Shawn looked at Henry. "Dad, I'm going to go back with her again. Will you keep an eye out for Abigail, Lassie, and Gus and let them know where Juliet's room is? I know Lassie will really want to see Juliet and Abby and I should probably talk."

"Sure, son. I'll look for them. Keep me posted on how Juliet is doing, okay?" asked Henry.

Shawn nodded at his dad and then disappeared behind the swinging doors to the triage rooms. While there was quietness and order on one side of the doors as people anxiously waited for news about their loved ones, on the other side there was much noise and chaos. The law of opposites, as Mary had explained it earlier...much like Shawn felt at the moment. While to the outside world Shawn appeared unnaturally still and silent, inside chaos reigned, his thoughts a jumbled mess of worries and emotions.

Juliet's gurney came to a stop in the center of the room and the various medical staff wasted no time reconnecting her to an impress array of monitors and fluids. Through it all, Juliet continued to lay motionless and silent. Shawn was relieved to not see and hear her whimpering and moaning in pain, but worried more and more as Juliet remained so unnaturally silent and still. Shawn revisited his vigil at Juliet's bedside, grabbing her small, cold hand in both of his and hovering above her.

Moments later, Juliet's doctor entered the room. He took in Shawn's look of concern and tight grasp on Ms. O'Hara's hand. "You are Ms. O'Hara's partner, is that correct?" he asked Shawn.

"Yeah, I'm...one of her partners," Shawn replied unconvincingly. "How's she doing?"

Dr. Sepinburg wasn't stupid. He's developed a keen bullshit detector over his main years as an ER doctor, so he usually could tell when someone was lying to them Ms. O'Hara's "partner" was obviously lying or exaggerating about their relationship, but yet he could clearly sense more than a collegial relationship between the two of them. More importantly, Ms. O'Hara responded well to him. When she seemed to be panicking, a mere word or touch from him seemed to calm and ground her. Personally, he found some of the visitation rules to be rather silly so he was fine with "overlooking" certain rule breaking as long as it was in the best interest of his patient. In this case, it seemed that both Juliet and her "partner" needed one another so he had no reason for exposing her partner's deception.

"Well, Mister...?" started the doctor.

"Shawn, you can just call me Shawn. You were saying?" asked Shawn anxiously.

"Yes Shawn, right now your partner Juliet is stable. The chest tube has drained the fluid from her lung and is keeping her lung inflated. We'll need to make sure she doesn't develop pneumonia so we're giving her IV antibiotics. She's got three broken ribs but they aren't displaced so they should heal with rest and time. So, her breathing has gotten much better and her oxygen levels have come back up to near normal. The X-rays confirmed that she also has a fractured ankle. We're going to go ahead and splint the ankle and we'll have an orthopedic surgeon look at it once she's a little more stable. I don't think she'll need surgery, but he'll need to set it and put it in a cast. Her temperature has also come up to near normal with the warm saline and warming blanket. The hypothermia appears to have been mild and there aren't any signs of frostbite or other tissue damage. My biggest remaining concern is her head injury and how that will affect her breathing and lung injury. We did CT scans of both her head and chest. If I had to guess, she's got a concussion but we need to know how bad it is since concussions can range from minor to severe. Right now she isn't showing any signs of a brain bleed or skull fracture, but she is having a hard time staying conscious. Until we've got a clear picture of her head injury, I'm not comfortable giving her any sedatives or pain medication because it is hard to know whether she's unresponsive because of the medications or because of her head injury. We'll want to continue to monitor her very closely either way to make sure she is breathing deeply enough and getting enough oxygen," reported Dr. Sepinburg. "What kinds of questions do you have? I know it is a lot to take in," said Dr. Sepinburg sympathetically.

Shawn drew in a big breath. Every time he heard the laundry list of Juliet's injuries, he felt sick. He knew that Dr. Sepinburg had said that Jules was stable, but it sounded like that could change at any moment. "Well, it sounds like you'll have the full picture after you get her CT scan results, is that right?" Shawn asked.

"Yes, that's the last piece of information we need at the moment," responded Dr. Sepinburg.

"Okay then, what happened next in terms of her treatment? How long will she need the tube in her chest? What about the oxygen? Does she stay here or..?" questioned Shawn.

"Sure, the next step will be to move her upstairs to the ICU. They'll leave the tube in anywhere from 5 to 7 days assuming all goes well with her recovery. They'll keep the oxygen for as long as they need in order to keep her oxygen levels up. Anything else you wanted to know?" asked Dr. Seinburg patiently.

"No, I think that is it for now. I'm assuming you'll talk to me again once the CT scan results are in, right?" asked Shawn.

"Absolutely," replied the doctor. "Okay, right now I'm going to suture up this nasty head wound she's got." Dr. Sepinburg turned to one of the nurses. "Bridget, let's get Shawn a stool to sit on so that he can stay with his partner."

"Thanks, Doc. I'd appreciate that," said Shawn gratefully. He looked down at Juliet's still form. She hadn't so much as shifted in the last 30 minutes and that really frightened him. He slumped down on the proffered stool, reaching out to stroke the hair off Jule's forehead with one hand while the other laced fingers with Juliet. He watched in morbid fascination as Dr. Sepingburg lay out a tray of instruments and placed a sterile drape around Juliet's wound. With the help of Nurse Bridget, he began irrigating the wound using a needle-less syringe and a saline solution.

A few seconds after Dr. Sepinburg started cleaning the wound, Juliet's hand tightened around his grasp. "Jules?" Shawn asked tentatively. Juliet began to moan and wrinkle her brow in pain. With her free hand, she reached up towards her temple, her eyes still closed tightly.

"Whoa, easy Jules," Shawn spoke as he caught her hand just inches from her wound. "You're in the hospital, remember? You've got a big cut on your head and the doctor needs to clean and stitch it up, okay? I know it hurts but it will be over soon." The doctor continued to work while Shawn tried to soothe Juliet.

Juliet winced in pain and then opened her eyes slowly . She could see Shawn sitting to her right, her hand tightly clamped in his, looking at her with an expression of equal parts concern and tenderness. When Juliet tried to speak, her throat felt scratchy and hoarse as if she'd been screaming for quite some time. "Shawn," she rasped, "is everyone okay? Did you find Abigail?"

Shawn swallowed hard. Juliet didn't seem to remember anything that had happened earlier today. Did that mean her head injury was getting worse? Or was it simply a sign she was tired and disoriented?"

"Yeah, Jules. Gus and Lassie found Abigail before it was too late while I went to find you at the pier. Do you remember me getting you out of the water?" Sean asked with concern.

"Oh, I'm not sure," said Juliet, fading fast. Looking Shawn straight in the eye, Juliet began to sob, "Shawn, it hurts."

Shawn's jaw tightened as he watched Jules whimper in pain. He kissed her forehead and then spoke to her quietly. "It's okay, Jules. I know you are hurting, sweetheart, but you are doing great. The pain's going to get better. You just need to rest right now and let the doctors help you, okay?" Shawn spoke in what he hoped was a soothing tone. Eventually, Juliet seemed to still and Shawn did not fight to keep her awake. If being unconscious meant that she didn't have to be in such pain, Shawn was willing to let her pass out at this point.

As Shawn sat quietly next to Juliet while Dr. Sepinburg finished the last of 27 stitches in Juliet's forehead, a new nurse burst into the room. "Doctor, there is a detective here that insists that he is Ms. O'Hara's partner and is requesting that he be allowed to see her immediately. Shawn reddened and look sheepishly at the ground.

"Thank you, Nurse Calloway," responded Dr. Sepinburg simply. "We'll handle it." Nurse Calloway gave Shawn a dubious look as she exited the room. Shawn opened his mouth to respond, but Dr. Sepinburg quickly held up his hand. "Look Shawn, I don't know what your relationship is to Ms. O'Hara and to be honest, I'm not sure I want to know. I do know that she responds to you and you've done a great job at keeping her calm so that we could treat her. My only rule is that there only be one visitor at a time and that the visitor keep things quiet and calm so that our patients can rest. So, I'll leave it up to you and the other detective to sort out who sits with her for now. I'm going to go check on the results of the CT scans and we'll talk more once I know what the scans look like."

Shawn gave a slight nod to acknowledge the doctor's plan. He knew that Lassie would want to see Juliet for himself, to make sure that she was really okay after the ordeal they had gone though. He also needed to see Abigail and to face their problems head on. Sure, Shawn hadn't searched for Abby himself, but he put some of his best men on the case. He knew Abby would be upset with him for "choosing" Juliet over her, but the question remained – how angry can she possible get with him? Particularly in a public place? Truth be told, even with a gun held to his head, he's would make the decision all over again. However, Shawn still hadn't acknowledged what that decision meant for his relationship with Jules and Abby long-term. That was one road he had to experience on his own to truly understand.


	7. In and Out Once More

Shawn took one last glance at Juliet who was still laying silent and still before leaving the triage room and passing through the swinging double doors to the waiting area. He could hear Lassie before he could see him as he was loudly arguing with a nurse about not being let back into Juliet's room. As the door swung open, Shawn could see Lassie brandishing his badge and shouting.

"Spencer, thank god," said Lassiter sharply. "You should count yourself lucky that I'm more worried about seeing my partner at the moment than I am at figuring out exactly why they seem to think you are O'Hara's partner. But don't think for one minute that I'm going to forget that you seem to be impersonating a police offer."

"Lassie, I'm glad you are here. Thank you for saving Abigail," said Shawn with uncharacteristic sincerity.

"I...uh....I was just doing my job. I certainly wasn't doing it for you," Lassiter spoke gruffly. "I'm glad that she is okay though," he continued. "What about O'Hara? How is she doing? Any change?"

Shawn let out a small sigh. "I just talked to the doctor. She's stable at the moment, but they don't know how bad her head injury is. They've got a tube in her chest which has helped with her breathing, but they are worried she could develop pneumonia because of all the water she inhaled." With a pinched look on his face, Shawn continued. "She's in a lot of pain at the moment and is in and out of consciousness."

Carlton looked stricken at the news. He was relieved to hear that his partner was stable, but it sounded like she was badly hurt so that could change at any moment. He needed to see her immediately.

"Look," said Shawn. "I know you want to see her and I need to talk to Abby. The doctor is okay with you going back there for a bit, he just won't let more than one person there at at time. She's been unconscious for a while but I think someone should be with her at all times. Yin is still out there, Lassie, and the last thing I want is her to get hurt or taken again. She's also been in a lot of pain and confused when she is awake, so she needs someone she knows to be there for her. I only ask that you come get me when the doctor gets the CT scan results."

Lassie nodded in agreement with Spencer. This might be the first time they agreed on something thought Carlton wryly. "Yeah, I agree she needs protection until we catch Yin. I'll make sure she has a black and white outside her room. I'll give McNabb a call soon and see if he can help us organize O'Hara's protection detail. Where is she?" asked Carlton.

"She's right through those double doors on the left," replied Shawn. "Please come get me if anything changes." With that, Shawn headed down the hall towards the waiting room. As he rounded the corner, he saw Abigail hunched over in a plastic chair. Gus was sitting to her left and had placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Shawn's dad sat to her right and patted her on the knee. She'd obviously been crying. Uh oh, thought Shawn. Here goes nothing...

Meanwhile, Carlton had reached Juliet's room. As he pushed open the door and laid eyes on O'Hara, he stopped short, aghast at how bad she looked. Lassiter drew in a sharp breath. "Oh, O'Hara," he muttered. "What did that son of a bitch do to you?"

Carlton slowly took in everything, her pallid complexion, the dark, almost bruise-like circles under her eyes, the thick bandage covering her left temple and swollen, purpled bruise surrounding it, the oxygen mask strapped to her face, the large tube he assumed went into her chest, and the multiple IVs dripping necessary medications and fluids into her veins. He now understood the reason for Spencer's grim look and tone. Even though the doctor told Shawn that O'Hara was stable, it was obvious that she was far from out of the woods.

Lassiter continued to stand motionless near the doorway of the room, paralyzed with fear, uncertainty, and anger at the bastard who had hurt his partner. He was nearly bowled over by a nurse who swung the door open and walked into the room.

"Whoops, careful there. I'm Nurse Bridget. And you are...?" she asked while noting Juliet's vitals in a small notebook.

"I'm Detective Carlton Lassiter of the SBPD. Detective O'Hara...Juliet is my partner. How's she doing?" he asked."

"Well, let's see. Her vitals are looking pretty good. Her heart rate is down and her oxygen levels are back up. Her blood pressure is still a little low at 80/60 but that's probably due to blood loss." The nurse continued to work as she spoke, sliding a thermometer into Juliet's ear. "Hmm, her temperature is still a little low at 96 degrees but that's normal since she was suffering from hypothermia." Finally, Nurse Bridget, gently raised the side of Juliet's gown. As she did so, Lassiter saw a thick flexible tube snaking from the canister attached to the side of the bed up and into Juliet's chest through a hole between two of her ribs. The tube was sutured in place with several stitches. To Lassiter's horror, he could also make out the clear outline of a boot in the large bruise spanning Juliet's ribs. The room started to spin as Lassiter tried to draw in a breath. He balled his hands into fists, wishing he could sock Mr. Yin in the nose instead.

Nurse Bridget glanced up and saw the cute detective go white as a sheet. "Sir, why don't you sit down. You're not looking so good. I know it must be hard to see your partner like this but she is doing much better now than she was when she first got here." She rolled the stool to the side of the bed and patted it once, encouraging him to sit down.

Lassiter stuttered, "I...I...I'm fine...I just" and then sat down with a sigh. Slowly, he reached up and covered Juliet's cold hand with his own. He looked up to see Juliet's nurse hanging yet another bag of medication.

"Alright Detective, her vitals are stable and everything is still looking good. The doctor will be in as soon as the CT scans have been read. If she wakes up, just push the call button and I'll be in to check on her. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I am fine. It's just hard to see my partner like this. Thanks for everything." Lassiter watched the nurse walk out the door and then realized he was alone with O'Hara for the first time. Lassiter wasn't sure what to do. He both wanted to be there for his partner and to be anywhere but in the small hospital room. He wondered if she could hear him, if she had any idea that he was there. He decided that it couldn't hurt to let her know.

"O'Hara, it's Carlton. I'm here. We're keeping a black and white outside your room at all times, so you're safe. I'm not going to let Yin or anyone else hurt you ever again. I, I...uh," Carlton voice shaking with barely suppressed frustration and guilt. He took a deep breath and continued, "I wanted to help Spencer find you, but Chief Vick gave the orders that Abigail got top priority since she is a civilian and gave me orders to head up her search party. I never could have....I wouldn't have trusted anyone else to find you, but I knew Spencer could do it. Just hang in there, partner," Lassiter said in a soft voice and giving Juliet's hand a quick squeeze.

To his surprise, he felt Juliet's hand tighten around his in response. Slowly, she opened her eyes, blinking slowly as if to clear the cobwebs from her mind.

"O'Hara?" asked Carlton tentatively. "Juliet, can you hear me?"

"Carlton?" Juliet rasped. She looked as if she wanted to say more before bursting into a fit of coughing. As she coughed, she held her left arm to her side like a splint, trying to prevent any further jostling to her broken ribs. Too late, she thought to herself as the pain in her chest exploded ten fold.

Carlton didn't know what to do. O'Hara had started coughing and then gasping for air, her face contorted in pain. He could see tears streaming from her partially closed eyes. He grabbed the call button and pushed it, hoping that the doctor or nurse could help Juliet. "Juliet, hang on. There's help on the way. Just try to breathe. I know it hurts, but you've just got to breathe, okay?" He pushed a tear-dampened lock of hair out of her eyes, and then waited, continuing to grasp Juliet's hand tightly in his. He wanted nothing more to get up, punch his hand through a wall, and then find Yin and put his fist through his face. Maybe he would tie the bastard to the pier and let him drown the way he'd been so ready to let O'Hara die. Lassiter thought back to the boot print covering O'Hara's ribs and decided he'd also like to kick Yin a couple thousand times in the stomach with steel-toed boots. And that would just be him warming up...

Lassiter looked up with relief as he saw Nurse Bridget push through the double doors, with Juliet's doctor close behind her. "What happened?" asked the nurse,

Carlton replied, "I'm not sure. She woke up and said my name. Then she started coughing and gasping for air."

"Okay, Ms. O'Hara, can you hear me? I know your chest is hurting but you aren't getting enough oxygen right now because you are breathing too shallowly. I'm going to turn up the oxygen which should help but you need to focus on your breathing. You need to take slow, deep breaths. In and out. Your partner's going to show you. Just breathe along with him, okay?"

"Detective, I need you to show her how to breathe. I'm going to grab her doctor. If we can't get her to calm down and breathe normally, we may have to sedate her. Help keep her calm and I'll be right back. Got it?" asked Nurse Bridget in a rush. Before Carlton could respond, she was out the door.

"Alright O'Hara, listen to me," Carlton began in what he hoped was a calm, authoritative voice. You need to open your eyes. Look at me. Look right here. Remember the time that perp got me down and kicked me in the stomach? Remember how it knocked the wind out of me and I couldn't breathe? What did you tell me? You said breathe in for 2 seconds, hold for 2 seconds, breathe out for 2 seconds. Let's try it together. Breathe in 1-2, hold it 1-2, breathe out 1-2. Good, that was good O'Hara. Let's try it again. Keep taking those slow deep breaths."

With a sigh of a relief, Carlton looked up to see that both Nurse Bridget and a man that she guessed was O'Hara's doctor enter the room. Quickly, her nurse rounded the bed and began taking her vital signs. The doctor gently lifted O'Hara's gown again to look at the placement of the tube in her chest.

"Bridget, this tube looks good. It isn't kinked and there is still fluid flowing from it regularly. Ms. O'Hara, I need to listen to your chest. Keep taking those deep breaths like your partner said. I'm getting equal breath sounds on both sides. I think the dropping oxygen levels are from pain and breathing too shallowly. I'm a little concerned that her heart rate is up again too though. Bridget, let's call the lab for a CBC to check her hematocrit. I want to make sure that there hasn't been more blood loss than we thought."

"I'm sorry, but what does all this mean? Why is she having trouble breathing?" Carlton asked with frustration.

"Well Detective, Ms. O'Hara's in a lot of pain and she's splinting which occurs when a patient breathes too shallowly due to a chest injury. I've been reluctant to prescribe pain medications or sedatives because it can interfere with the diagnosis of head injuries. However, I'm going to go ahead and give her a mild sedative which I hope will help with her breathing and get her heart rate down. Ms. O'Hara, did you have any questions?"

Juliet had been fading for the past few minutes as her struggle to breathe had exhausted her. She had to fight to open her eyes long enough to slowly shake her head no. The doctor nodded in response and exited the room with promises to check on the CT scans. Juliet's pain had become nearly unbearable so she welcomed a sedative if it would help with the pain and allow her to sleep. "Carlton," Juliet rasped through her oxygen mask. "I'm glad you are here. Where's Shawn?"

"He's here. They would only let one person back here at a time, so we switched spots for a bit. He's talking to Abigail right now." Carlton was surprised to see Juliet grimace at the mention of Abigail. She looked disappointed although she tried to cover it. "How are you feeling, partner?" asked Carlton.

Juliet was too tired to pretend she was okay. "Hurts" she said softly. She shut her eyes tightly and winced against the pain in her chest she felt with each breath.

"Okay, Ms. O'Hara. I'm injecting some medicine into your IV. It may burn a little a bit as it goes in. It is going to make you sleepy and hopefully it will make your chest hurt less, okay?"

Lassiter watched quietly as the nurse injected the medication into her IV. Within seconds, O'Hara's eyelids started to droop and her grip on Carlton's hand slackened. Lassiter gave her hand a quick squeeze and stood. He'd made a promise to Shawn that he'd find him if there was any change in O'Hara's condition and this seemed like a pretty big change. Plus, it was clear that O'Hara needed Shawn. Hopefully Shawn had enough time to talk things through with Abigail. God knows that he didn't envy Spender in the slightest when it came to having the hard talk with Abigail.


	8. To Know Me As Hardly Golden

With a growing sense of dread, Shawn made his way to Abby, Gus, and his dad. He could see Gus 's heavily bandaged left hand which he held gingerly in his lap. Abby didn't appeared to be injured, but her eyes were red and swollen from crying. Shawn's dad was the first to see Shawn and jumped stiffly to his feet.

"Shawn, how's Juliet doing? Any word on the CT scans? Did you get a chance to talk to Lassiter?" Henry asked in a rush. Shawn looked simultaneously exhausted, chastened, and terrified.

"Hey Dad, we don't know anything new yet. Lassie is back with Juliet right now and said he'd come get me once the doctor had her test results. Right now we are just waiting," Shawn said wearily.

Gus also stood to give Shawn their customary fist bump, but instead Shawn drew him into a close hug. "Thanks for everything, man. I really needed your help. Thank you for finding Abby. How bad is your hand?" asked Shawn guiltily.

"Please," said Gus dismissively. "It barely hurts. This bandage makes it look worse than it is."

Shawn nodded in response. He turned to Abby who was still sitting and staring at the floor. "Hey Abs," Shawn said gently. "How are you doing? Are you hurt?"

Abby looked up at Shawn and burst into tears. "Oh Abs," he said. "Come here." Gus and Henry mumbled some rationale for needing to leave the waiting room and suddenly he was all alone with Abby.

Shawn drew Abby into a tight hug, stroking her hair as she sobbed. "Shh, it's okay," he murmured to her. "I've got you. You're safe now." Abby's upper body shook with the force of her sobs. Shawn continued to hold her tightly, and after several minutes, he felt her sobbing slow.

"Abs?" Shawn asked gently. "Why don't we sit down and talk, okay?"

Abby nodded and sat down wordlessly on the couch beside Shawn. Shawn reached for the box of tissues the hospital had thoughtfully placed on the end table and handed them to Abigail, who now seemed exhausted and worn down.

Shawn gazed at Abigail for a second, unsure where to begin. Was she crying due to fear of Yin and the possibility of being hurt or killed? Was she having some sort of post-traumatic stress reaction to being abducted and tied to a clock tower? Was she angry with him for not being the one to find her? If he had to guess, it was probably because of all three, so he decided to just dive right in.

"Abs listen, I'm so sorry I put you in harm's way. Yin was trying to hurt me by getting to you. I should have known that you would be a target. I should have insisted on picking you up instead of sending Buzz. If something had happened to you because of me...," Shawn trailed off, too horrified at the thought to say it out loud.

Abby shook her head vigorously. "Shawn, it isn't your fault that there is a sociopathic serial killer after you and anyone you care about. I know you didn't mean for me to get kidnapped. I'm just not sure I'm cut out for this," Abigail said sadly. "It is hard enough dating someone who puts themselves in danger constantly. Do you realize how I worry every time you leave to go somewhere for a case? Do you realize what it was like for me to get that call from Gus telling me that you were in the hospital after being shot?" She continued, her voice rising in volume and intensity as she spoke. "You have to understand, there are things I want from my life. Things I want to accomplish. I want to go back to Uganda. I want to raise money and build a school for poor children there. Being alive is pretty important when it comes to making these dreams come true."

Abby's voice started to waver as she continued. "Look Shawn, maybe we could find a way around this whole "I like to risk my life doing boneheaded things on a daily basis" issue...but there is one thing I don't know if I can get past. Why did you pick Juliet instead of me? I was so scared, Shawn. I thought my life was coming to an end right then and there. And in that moment, there were only a few things I truly regretted. One of those things was not choosing you over Uganda. I really regretted not jumping into our relationship with my whole heart and wondered if things would have been different if I had. Maybe I would have stayed in the country, or maybe you would have come with me. I really and truly believed that. When I heard the sirens down below, I was so relieved. I was sure you'd come to save me..." Abby broke off again, her voice thick with unshed tears.

Shawn dropped his head to his hands as he listened to Abby. God, he was a jerk, thought Shawn. He couldn't argue with a thing Abby said either. It was all true. Why did he pick Juliet? Shawn asked himself. He knew he cared about Juliet a great deal, but he cared about Abby too. Why did he make that choice? If he really admitted it to himself, he'd been in love with Juliet since the first day he'd met her. He covered it with a thin veneer of flirting, but underneath all of that he'd come to love and respect Juliet through their years of working together. Yes, he liked to "meet cute" with her, but he could also tell Juliet about his real life, his fears, his frustrations...things that he couldn't share with anyone else besides Gus. In turn, Juliet had gradually opened up with him too. God, just thinking about their "very close talking" after he'd brought in Tancana made his whole body tingle. He'd scarcely believed that someone like Juliet would give him the time a day, but their "close-talking" moment had made him believe for the first time, maybe the only time in his whole life, that he was deserving of something that good. He'd started to hope that maybe someday they could really be something. But yet he'd still been shocked and dumbfounded by her confession at the drive-in after his first rendezvous with Mr. Yang. That something would finally happen, that the balance of power had shifted so far that Juliet had asked him out on a proper date...well, he could hardly believe his good fortune. That is, until he remembered that Abigail was waiting for him just outside the snack bar. He'd never felt such a overwhelming jolt of joy followed by such misery. He knew that telling Juliet about his date with Abigail had been the right choice. His mother and father had raised him well enough to know that you don't ditch one girl for another mid-date, especially not when the girl in question was Abigail who he had already abandoned once before on a date many years ago. To do that to Abigail again after all these years would have been cruel, and Shawn for all his faults was not cruel. Still, it had pained him to tell Juliet about her horrible timing and he'd wished more than anything in that moment that he could have avoided hurting her as much as he obviously had. Their relationship had been awkward after that, especially in Canada, as he had no idea how to interact with Juliet now that their relationship was on somewhat equal footing, but it had finally seemed to be getting better before he'd been shot and kidnapped. When he'd been able to call her and tell her how he felt under the guise of calling Abigail to say good bye, he really thought they'd come full circle and he was convinced that Jules had been ready to tell him that she loved him too, no matter what Gus had said. That is why it had pained him again to use Abigail's name. He hadn't been thinking clearly in the moment because he was truly afraid that he was going to be shot again and killed or left in some remote location to bleed to death. He'd been worried Juliet wouldn't understand the message he was trying to get to her without him making it clear that he hadn't meant that as a message to her but as a clue to help her find him. Yet, Juliet had pulled through for him again despite how he'd clearly hurt her, and Shawn owed Juliet his life.

"Shawn. Shawn?" Abigail said, a bit more loudly this time. Abby was frustrated and still beyond jet lagged, and now beyond kidnapped-lagged as well. From the way Shawn had his head in his hands, Abby was starting to doubt that she wanted an answer to the question she had posed to Shawn. Maybe she'd be better off not knowing, so that she could at least pretend that Shawn loved her as much as he loved Juliet. While the thought of breaking things off with him made Abby's heart break, the thought of not knowing how Shawn truly felt about her and Juliet seemed worse so she decided to be a glutton for punishment and push on.

Shawn drew in a deep breath. "You're right, Abs. You are absolutely right. I wasn't there for you when you needed me most. I just..." Shawn broke off suddenly as he tried to find the words to explain to Abigail while he'd gone after Juliet. With a small sigh, Shawn continued "I just felt lost. I care about you and Juliet more than you'll know and the thought of losing either of you made me physically ill. But I knew where you were and that Lassiter and Gus could get to you in time. I had no idea where Juliet was and I thought that I wouldn't be able to save her. I had to think about her dying and it being all my fault." Shawn's voice cracked with emotion. "Abs, if it weren't for that clue...um, I mean my vision of the dock...she would have drowned. I had to make an impossible choice. I get that I let you down....and if I'm being totally honest with you, I do care about Juliet a lot. Probably more than I should," Shawn trailed off. As he looked up, he saw that Abigail had dropped her head to her chest and tears were flowing once more.

"I'm sorry, Abigail. I know that I haven't been the best boyfriend to you, but please don't doubt how much I do care for you." Shawn paused again and waited for Juliet to look up and meet his eye. "What do you want, Abigail? Is this something we can get past? Is this something that we should try to get past? I just don't know if this is something I can fix." Shawn felt a cold jolt to his stomach as he looked at Abigail who seemed to be staring past him intensely."

Abigail placed her shaking hands beneath her tucked up legs in an attempt to make her anxiety and heartbreak less visible. Well, this is it, she thought. I knew this day was coming. It is clear that what Shawn and I want are two separate things, thought Abigail. She steeled herself to ask the one question she had been dreading since the beginning. "Shawn, it is clear that you and I want separate things. I want to go to Uganda. I want to travel the world. I certainly don't want to drag out this relationship when it is clear you have feelings for someone else and you aren't willing to make the commitment to our relationship," Abigail said in a measured tone as she struggled to maintain her slight composure. As she looked to Shawn to confirm what she already knew to be true, the door to the family waiting area suddenly swung open and Lassister strode briskly into the room.

"Oh, Lassie. Hey, how's everything going? Is Juliet okay?" Shawn asked in a rush. Lassiter's face looked grim although he tried to remove every trace of emotion. It was the same face Shawn had seen Lassiter make hundreds of times as they solved cases together. When they worked a case with a missing 8 year old kid, everyone had been beyond emotional and upset. However, even as Shawn watched Lassie slip on the mask of detached professional concern, he could still see Lassie's composure slipping as the distraught parent showed Lassie a picture of the missing child and his security blanket that he still slept with.

"Look Spencer, it isn't good. She started having some problems breathing again and they had to sedate her. She's calmed down and breathing okay right now but she's unconscious again. The nurse told me that her doctor was looking at the head and chest CT scans right now and that he should be in any minute to tell us what the results look like," finished Lassiter. He could tell by the pinched expression and fresh tears on Abby's face that they'd been having a big discussion. Probably personal, thought Lassiter. Man, I don't envy Spencer in the slightest right now...

Shawn looked torn as he looked to Abigail. What should I do, he thought to himself. "Abby and I were just about finished..." started Shawn but Abby quickly cut him off.

"It's fine, Shawn," Abby said defeatedly. "I think we've both said what needs saying. This relationship is over. Go see Juliet," Abby continued. "She needs you right now. I don't. I'll see if your dad or Gus can take me home. I'm ready for this day to be over."

Shawn looked at Abigail, his face a mix of concern, relief, and guilt. "I'm sorry, Abby. Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," said Abby with finality. "I hope Juliet is going to be okay. Go ahead to check on Juliet, Shawn. Please..." Abby pleaded as her eyes started to tear up once more.

Shawn sighed and enveloped Abby in a hug one last time. He whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry Abby. You are a wonderful person, inside and out and you deserve better than me." With one final glance at Abby, Shawn walked to the door and addressed Lassiter. "Alright Lassie, lead the way."


End file.
